DESIGN&ENGINEERING OF NON-PLASTIC WASTE BAGS BASED ON"BIOFIBER - ORGANIC&INORGANIC MODIFIER"HYBRIDS

Northern Technologies International Corporation (NTIC), MN, in collaboration with Michigan State University (MSU), MI, pans to formulate and engineer chemically modified, marine biodegradable, biofiber-based, non-plastic waste bags that are water resistant, readily treatable with other organic wastes in the on-board waste processing equipment and marine biodegradable as defined by ASTM D7081 standard. As part of Phase I, NTIC investigated (1) three classes of biobased, non-plastic materials that function as a coating or as an adhesive depending on the manufacturing process employed; (2) coating of selected paper substrates using silylated soyabean oil to provide new biobased hybrid composite and (3) conducted aqueous biodegradability testing per ISO 14852. Phase I work was successful in coating soya-based non-plastic material onto different grades of unmodified paper to obtain a water-proof and grease-proof paper. Phase II will be directed toward scale-up and process development of coating paper in a large-scale manufacturing set up and convert the coated paper to bags. Development of such a high strength, water-proof, marine biodegradable, and non-plastic waste disposal bag will assist the fleet in reducing their at-sea plastic usage and significantly decrease the volume of plastic waste that must be processed and stored aboard. Furthermore, the newly developed technology would find application in traditional markets for coated paper such as disposable foodservice ware and trash bags.